John Dewey

John Dewey (1859-1952) was an American philosopher and educator whose writings and teachings have had profound influences on education in the United States. Dewey's philosophy of education, instrumentalism (also called pragmatism), focused on learning-by-doing rather than rote learning and dogmatic instruction, the current practice of his day. A concise summary and explanation of Dewey's educational philosophy can be found in the International Encyclopedia of Education (Pergamon, 1994).

Dewey was a very prolific writer. The following bibliography references his most popular works on education.

Additional writings by Dewey can be accessed via an author search of a library catalog, such as the University of Illinois Online Catalog [telnet] or through A Bibliography of John Dewey by Milton Halsey Thomas and Herbert Wallace Schneider (Columbia Univeristy Press, 1929).

Richard Bernstein's work John Dewey (Ridgeway, 1981) is one of a number of biographies of Dewey. Others include The Life and Mind of John Dewey by George Dykhuizen (Southern Illinois University Press, 1973) and John Dewey: An Intellectual Portrait by Sidney Hook (Greenwood, 1971).

Additionally works about Dewey or his ideas can be located via a subject search of a library catalog, such as the Univeristy of Illinois Online Catalog [telnet] or through Jo Ann Boydston's Checklist of Writings about John Dewey (Southern Illinois University Press, 1974).

For current, on-going discussion of the philosophical ideas of John Dewey, the internet offers:

Date: Fri, 5 Aug 1994 17:15:37 CDT

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From: lekan todd m tlekan@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu

Subject: NEW: DEWEY-L - Discussion of John Dewey's philosophy

DEWEY-L on MAJORDOMO@UX1.CSO.UIUC.EDU

DEWEY-L is an electronic forum devoted to the interpretation and extension of John Dewey's philosophy. The list is open to anyone with an interest in any facet of Dewey's philosophy.

Although disagreements are to be expected and may get "hot" at times, it is expected that members of the forum will strive for a spirit of cooperative inquiry. The broad aims of the list are to offer a charitable interpretation of Dewey's writings and to evaluate its merits, including its relations to other relevant developments in philosophy.

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Owner: Todd Lekan tlekan@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu
Department of Philosophy
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Lisa Janicke

janicke@alexia.lis.uiuc.edu